Richard Ashcroft | Keys to the World (Virgin)

Ashcroft apologists would tell you that the former Verve frontman sounds as energetic and vital as ever, but the truth remains that Keys to the World is one half-decent single and nine tracks of filler.

The last time Richard Ashcroft likely got a warm reception was when he took the stage at Live 8 to perform his signature hit, “Bitter-sweet Symphony” with modern rock titans Coldplay; he’s arguably been coasting upon the fumes of the admittedly iconic track for close to a decade.

Not that you can blame Ashcroft for coasting. His previous group, the Verve, hit big with that 1997 single but split up soon after, robbed of enjoying their tremendous success, and tarnished by the spat with the Rolling Stones over the uncleared sample fueling “Bittersweet Symphony.” The Verve were a band famous after their time, namechecked by the next generation but denied a large following in their day. It’s understandable that Ashcroft would want to remain in the mid-’90s, releasing albums that don’t advance his craft much beyond the stellar collection of songs that makes up the Verve’s swan song, Urban Hymns.

Nowhere does the accusation of a creative holding pattern hold more water than his latest solo album, Keys to the World. Ashcroft apologists would tell you that the former Verve frontman sounds as energetic and vital as ever, but the truth remains that Keys to the World is one half-decent single (“Break the Night With Colour”) and nine tracks of filler, although “Sweet Brother Malcolm” comes close to breaking up the monotony.

Following up 2002’s Human Condition, Ashcroft samples Curtis Mayfield for “Music Is Power,” gooses “Why Not Nothing?” with an electric charge, and goes all downbeat for “Words Just Get in the Way,” varying his approach slightly but not enough to be considered stimulating.

Ashcroft still boasts a gift for unexpected flair that elevates a song from OK to memorable, but the pervasive air of stale repetition that permeates Keys to the World can’t be shaken. This is the work of an artist whose ideas are increasingly few and far between.

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